gamingdatabasefandomcom-20200216-history
Sagat
One of the central characters in the Street Fighter franchise, Sagat is the recurring rival of the series main protagonist, Ryu. A master of the martial art Muay Thai, Sagat combines his large size and powerful Tiger Uppercut technique to make himself one of the most dangerous threats in the Street Fighter world. Starting as the final boss and central antagonist of the first game, Sagat's role and morality have greatly shifted over the course of the series. While his play-style is somewhat similar to the Shotos like Ryu and Ken, his attacks are noted for their surprisingly long length and hitboxes, allowing him to easily out-range most other fighters with punches and kicks. In many games, his attacks posses much higher priority than other characters, giving him numerous safe approaches. History Street Fighter Born into poverty in Thailand, Sagat was the target of intensive bullying as he grew up, targeted because of his unnaturally large size. When he witnessed bits of Muay Thai martial arts, Sagat harnessed his rage and anger and began to train himself, vowing to become a skilled wielder in the powerful martial art. After years of extensive practice, a teenage Sagat challenged the world's greatest Muay Thai fighter, Nuah Kahn, and defeated him, becoming a national hero dubbed the "King of Muay Thai" by the people. Sagat defended his title well into adulthood, even taking a pupil, Adon. Desiring to prove himself not just the greatest Muay Thai fighter in the world, but the greatest warrior period, Sagat held the first World Warrior Tournament, challenging fighters from across the world come and prove themselves. A single entrant, Ryu, bested each of the other entrants, including Sagat's pupil Adon, gaining the right to challenge the King himself. Sagat and Ryu fought a pitched battle, but just as victory seemed ensured for the Muay Thai wielder, Ryu's desire to win allowed him to become partially consumed by the Satsui no Hado, the darker side of the ki energy harnessed in Ryu's normal fighting style, unleashing a devastating Metsu Shoryuken that tore open Sagat's chest, permanently scarring the King and denying him his victory. Defeated and critically wounded, Sagat vowed that he would one day get revenge against Ryu. Street Fighter Alpha 2 Studying the move that lead to his critical defeat in the World Warrior Tournament, Sagat began to devise a special move to rival the Shoryuken- creating the Tiger Blow. Sagat began to practice and hone this technique during his recovery process, but was encountered and challenged by Adon, who had renounced Sagat as his teacher, believing that by losing to Ryu, he had revealed himself as a weakling no longer deserving of his title of King of Muay Thai. Adon challenged Sagat to a match, and while Sagat was able to deliver a blow that would put his former student out of commission for four months, he was still recovering from having his chest ripped open, and was unable to fight to his full power- losing to Adon in the end. Shortly after, Sagat joined the criminal organization Shadaloo, after its leader M. Bison promised him the resources to find and challenge Ryu to a proper rematch. Consumed by his hate, Sagat eagerly accepted the offer, becoming one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Shadaloo", serving as Bison's personal bodyguard. Sagat wasted no time in hunting Ryu down and challenging him to a battle, though the warrior protested that Sagat was still in the recovery process from the first battle. Sagat refused to back down despite his injuries and the two battled once again, this time with Sagat emerging victorious. Despite having gained his revenge on his rival, Sagat felt the victory was hollow- when his eyes met Ryu's as they walked away, the Muay Thai wielder knew that Ryu had thrown the match and allowed Sagat the honor of victory. Swearing that he would train and become stronger so that he could earn a true win in their next encounter, Sagat further honed the Tiger Blow, perfecting it as the Tiger Uppercut. Returning, Sagat met a new warrior, named Dan Hibiki. Dan reminded Sagat of a time before the first World Warrior tournament, when a fighter named Go Hibiki had battled with Sagat- during the match, Go's karate destroyed Sagat's eye, sending the King into a fury that lead to Go's murder. The enraged Dan sought vengeance for his fallen father, and challenged Sagat to a match, though Sagat's mind was still firmly focused on the battle he had with Ryu. Realizing that Dan was on a similar path of anger and hate as he himself was, Sagat allowed Dan to defeat him, sparing him a life fueled by vengeance. Street Fighter Alpha 3 As a member of Shadaloo, Sagat continued to use his resources to learn more about his decisive match with Ryu, and discovered the truth of the power behind the Metsu Shoryuken- the Satsui no Hado. The revelation, as well as his reflection on his latest fight with Ryu and Dan, lead Sagat to determine that true rivals should not be blinded by hate or anger, and should never be seduced by it, despite the beliefs of Bison. Bison would confront Sagat with a brainwashed Ryu, offering Sagat the chance for the rematch that he had always wanted- but Sagat felt cheated by the idea of fighting a handicapped, corrupted version of his foe. Sagat still fought Ryu, but instead of trying to achieve glory by defeating him, Sagat tried to remind Ryu of who he was and break Bison's control, telling him that no true warrior would be willing to give in to his treachery. Eventually, Sagat's efforts were successful and Ryu was able to regain control, purging himself of Bison's control and the Satsui no Hado. Angered, M. Bison confronted Sagat, and was defeated by the Muay Thai King. Sagat then told Ryu that he was too weakened by the fight with his inner corruption, and they agreed to return and settle the score when they both regained their strength and became true masters. As Ryu walked away, Sagat realized that he no longer sought revenge against Ryu- he wished to fight him as equals and defeat him because he felt it was a destined battle between rivals. Street Fighter II series Sagat entered the Second World Warrior tournament knowing that Ryu would do the same to continue his quest to improve and fight foes from across the globe. With Sagat's only continued motivation being a desire to face Ryu in a clean and honest rematch, when he discovered that his rival had been eliminated from the tournament (presumably at the hands of his close friend, Ken Masters), Sagat himself forfeited any further advancement in the tournament, officially ending in third place. Returning to his native Thailand, Sagat began to once again train his mind and body, though he soon began to have doubts that he could ever regain his title as the World's Strongest as he continued to age. Street Fighter IV series After the Second World Warrior tournament, Sagat's personal doubts and feeling of being a loser built up until he fell into a deep depression. Looking for something to reignite his slumbering spirits, Sagat decided to watch one of Adon's Muay Thai matches, hoping to find something inspiring in the man he once called a student. Instead, Adon publicly taunted him and challenged him to a fight in front of the whole audience, leading Sagat to accept. Confident because of his previous victory, Adon attacked, only to be easily taken down by Sagat's new finishing move- the Tiger Destruction. His effortless victory lead to the crowd happily and proudly cheering for Sagat, still considered the King of Muay Thai. Reinvigorated by the support and love, when he hears about Seth and S.I.N.'s upcoming tournament, Sagat eagerly joins, hoping to discover the ultimate purpose of his fighting. During the tournament, Sagat encountered his old rival, Ryu, and the two fought- though the current outcome of the battle is yet canonically unknown. Regardless, Sagat returned from the tournament realizing that instead of focusing on victory or defeat, what's truly important is communicating one's soul to the opponent through one's fists. Sagat compared his former self to Seth, whose fists were "mute", and wondered whether he has changed. Returning to his home in Thailand, Sagat is greeted by his brother, a monk named Chit, who asks how Sagat fared. Sagat told his brother that he actually had fun during the tournament, and that he got to meet "an old friend" during the fighting. From the shadows, unknown to Sagat, Adon watched him, deciding that his former mentor had gone truly weak and pitiful, vowing to take the title of King of Muay Thai himself, no matter the cost. Street Fighter X Tekken After the SIN tournament, Sagat is informed by a local villager that a young girl that he had once rescued had gone missing. The King of Muay Thai vowed to find her and save her again, but soon encountered his fellow World Warrior tournament entrant, the Yoga-practicing monk Dhalsim. Dhalsim informs Sagat that numerous children had recently gone missing, including multiple from his native village. The two decided to join forces to seek out and rescue the lost kids as a tag-team partnership. Hearing about the ancient power known only as Pandora, located in the Arctic, the two decide to seek it out, thinking its power could help them locate the kids. They soon discovered that their universe was crossing over with another universe of fighters, and on their journey that came into fights with numerous Tekken heroes and villains, culminating in a final battle in the Arctic with a powerful being known as Ogre. Though Ogre was incredibly powerful, he was unable to defeat the combined might of Sagat's Tiger Uppercut and Dhalsim's Yoga Fire, and the two were able to overcome, finding the lost children in the process. With their quest complete, Pandora opens before them. Dhalsim remarks that its said they could possess the power of a god with it, but Sagat scoffs at the idea, claiming that they didn't need any such power. The yoga master agreed and, their mission complete, the two decided to head home, leaving Pandora behind them. Non-Canon History Street Fighter Alpha After his humiliating defeat in the first World Warriors Tournament, Sagat vows revenge against Ryu. Entering the latest tournament with the sole intention of besting his rival, Sagat has his rematch and comes out victorious. Despite the official victory over his rival, Sagat felt empty, and soon realized that Ryu had not given it his all in the fight, leading to Sagat going on a personal reflection that ends in his decision to give up on his rivalry, thinking it childish and foolish. He is soon met by M. Bison, who congratulates him on his victory, but claims that for him to truly be a warrior deserving of fear, he needed to learn to harness Psycho Energy as a member of Shadaloo. The events of the first Alpha title were incorporated into and retconed by the second Alpha title, leading to this game no longer being a part of the timeline. Notes Sagat has been received extremely popularly, becoming a major fan-favorite character. In IGN's Top 25 Street Fighter Characters countdown, Sagat placed 11th. GameDaily, on the other hand, named him their 8th top Street Fighter character in their top 20. Japan's Gamest Magazine cited him as the 22nd best character in gaming in 1991, and UGO placed him as the number 1 Street Fighter character in their Top 50 countdown. Having undeniably gained love as one of the most popular Street Fighter characters of all time, Sagat has still seen heavy criticism in the competitive community, where he was well known for being overpowered throughout the Street Fighter II series. He was soft-banned in Japan for all Street Fighter II series tournaments, and while he saw no such banning State-Side, his removal from the Japan Competitive Scene lead to a greater number of viable characters used- as some of these characters were weeded out from the western side of things for their unfavorable match-ups with Sagat. Sagat, renamed in this incarnation Victor Sagat, is a major character in Street Fighter: The Movie, where he is portrayed by famed Native American actor Wes Studi. In the film, Sagat is a mob boss in the underground Shadaloo City and the bodyguard of General Bison. Formerly known as Iron Fist, Sagat is now the rival of Ken Masters, who is now working alongside Ryu as a pair of traveling con-men. When Ryu and Ken attempt to sell Sagat fake guns, the man orders their death, sending his men after them. Impressed by their combat skills, Sagat decides that Ken and Ryu will be his next challenger in the Cage Fights, alongside his partner Vega. Before he can take them, however, Lieutenant Guile crashes through the wall in a tank and arrests all four of them. Guile, Cammy and T. Hawk make a plan with Ryu and Ken to track Sagat to Shadaloo City, which succeeds. Taking refuge with Bison, Sagat shows the General a sample of the weapons he plans on supplying him with, and Bison tries to pay him in Bison Dollars- the currency the world will use under his coming reign. Calling him mad, Sagat tries to cut off ties with the General, but is talked out of it by Ryu and Ken, who are faking a position as Sagat's new-found allies. When Guile leads an attack on Bison's hidden base, Sagat and Vega deduce that Ryu and Ken lead him there, and plan to ambush them. The two corner Ryu and Ken in the locker room and attack, but are defeated by the two con-men. As Bison's base is destroyed, Sagat abandons Vega and escapes with Dee Jay through a hidden tunnel with a suitcase full of money, avoiding arrest or death in the base- though opening the briefcase, they discover they've only obtained useless Bison Dollars. Sagat appears in the opening of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, which recreates his battle with Ryu, ending in his fateful scarring. Their battle takes place in a rainy, wind-swept grass field in the midst of a thunderstorm, a stage which would become canon as the site of their first major rematch in the Alpha series. Sagat is seen later in the film working for Bison. In the American made Street Fighter cartoon, "Victor" Sagat is presented as Bison's Second-in-command, and is a recurring villain. Sagat appears in the animated series Street Fighter II: V, where he has neither his scar nor his eye-patch. Sagat was once the King of Muay Thai, but is falsely imprisoned because of falsified connections to a drug ring. He meets Ryu when the warrior is placed in the same set-up as him, and placed in the same prison. At first rivals, this Sagat and Ryu become allies and grow a deep respect for one another as they work to overcome the corrupt Prison Warden. Appearances * Street Fighter * Street Fighter II: The World Warrior * Street Fighter II: Champion Edition * Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting * Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers * Super Street Fighter II Turbo * Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior's Dream * Street Fighter Alpha 2 * Street Fighter Collection * Street Fighter Alpha 3 * Street Fighter EX 2 Plus * Street Fighter EX 3 * SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash * Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 * Capcom vs. SNK Pro * SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters 2 Expand Edition * Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition * SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos * Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 * Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 * SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters DS * Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix * Street Fighter IV * Super Street Fighter IV * Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition * Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition * Street Fighter X Tekken * Ultra Street Fighter IV Category:Characters Category:Playable Characters Category:Fighting Category:Capcom